(Draft No. 4.1 H.329) Page 1 of 8 5/1/ BNH - 04:23 PM. The Committee on Finance to which was referred House Bill No.

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1 (Draft No.. H.) Page of // - BNH - 0: PM TO THE HONORABLE SENATE: The Committee on Finance to which was referred House Bill No. entitled An act relating to use value appraisals respectfully reports that it has considered the same and recommends that the Senate propose to the House that the bill be amended by striking out all after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following: Sec.. V.S.A. is amended to read:. LAND USE CHANGE TAX (a) Land which has been classified as agricultural land or managed forestland pursuant to this chapter shall be subject to a land use change tax upon the development of that land, as defined in section of this chapter. The tax shall be at the rate of percent of the full fair market value of the changed land determined without regard to the use value appraisal; or the tax shall be at the rate of percent if the owner demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Director that the parcel has been enrolled continuously more than years. If changed land is a portion of a parcel, the fair market value of the changed land shall be the fair market value of the changed land prorated on the basis of acreage, divided by the common level of appraisal. The tax shall be ten percent of the full fair market value of the developed or withdrawn land as a stand-alone parcel determined without regard to the use value appraisal. Such fair market value shall be determined as of the date the land is no longer VT LEG #00 v.

2 (Draft No.. H.) Page of // - BNH - 0: PM eligible for use value appraisal. This tax shall be in addition to the annual property tax imposed upon such property. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require payment of an additional land use change tax upon the subsequent development of the same land, nor shall it be construed to require payment of a land use change tax merely because previously eligible land becomes ineligible, provided no development of the land has occurred. Sec.. USE VALUE APPRAISAL EASY-OUT Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an owner of property enrolled in use value appraisal under V.S.A. chapter as of the passage of this act who elects to discontinue enrollment of the entire parcel may be relieved of the land use change tax imposed pursuant to V.S.A. ; provided that if the property owner does elect to discontinue enrollment and be relieved of the land use change tax, the owner shall pay the full property tax, based upon the property s full fair market value, for the tax year assessment. An election to discontinue enrollment under this provision is effective only if made in writing to the Director of Property Valuation and Review on or before February,. An owner who elects to discontinue enrollment under this section or any successor owner may not reenroll the withdrawn parcel or any part of the withdrawn parcel until the tax year. If the property owner withdraws less than the entire parcel, the provisions of this section do not VT LEG #00 v.

3 (Draft No.. H.) Page of // - BNH - 0: PM apply. The easy-out provided for in this section shall not be available for any land that has been developed, as that term is defined in V.S.A. (), prior to passage of this act. Sec.. ASSESSMENT OF PROPERTY On or before November,, the Director of Property Valuation and Review shall publish guidance for the local assessing officials concerning: () how to assess land permanently encumbered by a conservation easement; () how to assess land subject to a use value appraisal; and () how to apply the methodologies in subdivisions () and () of this section in a consistent manner across the State. Sec.. V.S.A. is amended to read:. DEFINITIONS () Managed forestland means: (A) any land, exclusive of any house site, which is at least acres in size and which is under active long-term forest management for the purpose of growing and harvesting repeated forest crops in accordance with minimum acceptable standards for forest management. Such land may include eligible ecologically significant treatment areas in accordance with minimum VT LEG #00 v.

4 (Draft No.. H.) Page of // - BNH - 0: PM acceptable standards for forest management and as approved by the Commissioner; or () Methane digester means a system used to convert manure or other farm products into biogas through an anaerobic digesting process. (A) A methane digester shall be considered a farm building for purposes of this chapter if it is: (i) owned by or leased to a farmer pursuant to subdivision () of this section; (ii) actively used to manage manure or other farm products from the farm operation, and the amount of manure or other farm products it manages from the farm operation exceeds the amount of off-farm manure or other farm products it manages; and (iii) situated on land subject to use value appraisal or on a house site that is contiguous with the land receiving a use value appraisal. (B) For the purpose of calculating municipal reimbursements under section 0 of this title, the Director shall value any methane digester treated as a farm building at zero. Sec.. METHANE DIGESTERS; REPORT ON TAXATION OF ENERGY PRODUCTION VT LEG #00 v.

5 (Draft No.. H.) Page of // - BNH - 0: PM On or before January,, the Commissioner of Taxes shall report to the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Ways and Means on whether the production of electricity by methane digesters, as defined by V.S.A. (), should be taxed and a proposed method of taxing such electricity production. Sec.. V.S.A. is amended to read:. ELIGIBILITY FOR USE VALUE APPRAISALS (b) Managed forestland shall be eligible for use value appraisal under this subchapter only if: () there has not been filed with the Director an adverse inspection report by the Department stating that the management of the tract is contrary to the forest or conservation management plan, or contrary to the minimum acceptable standards for forest or conservation management. The management activity report shall be on a form prescribed by the Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation in consultation with the Commissioner of Taxes and shall include a detachable section signed by all the owners that shall contain the federal tax identification numbers of all the owners. The section containing federal tax identification numbers shall not be made available to the general public, but shall be forwarded to the Commissioner of Taxes within 0 days VT LEG #00 v.

6 (Draft No.. H.) Page of // - BNH - 0: PM after receipt and used for tax administration purposes. If any owner shall satisfy the Department that he or she was prevented by accident, mistake, or misfortune from filing a an initial or revised management plan which is required to be filed on or before October, or a management plan update which is required to be filed on or before April of the year in which the plan expires, or a management activity report which is required to be filed on or before February of the year following the year when the management activity occurred, the Department may receive that management plan or management activity report at a later date; provided, however, no initial or revised management plan shall be received later than December, and no management plan update shall be received later than one year after April of the year the plan expires, and no management activity report shall be received later than March. Sec.. AGRICULTURAL LANDS SUBJECT TO A USE VALUE APPRAISAL On or before September, and annually thereafter, the owner of agricultural land or buildings enrolled in the use value program as agricultural land or buildings shall certify in writing under oath to the Commissioner that the agricultural land or buildings enrolled by that owner continue to meet the requirements for enrollment in the use value program at the time of the VT LEG #00 v.

7 (Draft No.. H.) Page of // - BNH - 0: PM certification. The form of the certification shall be made on a form specified by the Director of Property Valuation and Review. Sec.. COUNTY FORESTERS (a) The Secretary of Natural Resources, in consultation with the Commissioner of Taxes and the Commissioner of Forest, Parks and Recreation, shall report to the Senate Committee on Finance and House Committee on Ways and Means on whether the current number of county foresters is sufficient to oversee compliance of forestland subject to a use value appraisal under V.S.A. chapter, given the increasing number of forestland parcels, and the increasing acreage of forestland, in the current use program. In addition to any issues the Secretary considers relevant to this report, he or she shall specifically consider whether any or all of the following would be appropriate to strengthening the current use program: () providing an additional forester whose sole responsibility would be investigating alleged violations of the current use requirements and doing spot compliance checks for forestland parcels; () adding additional foresters to reflect the growth in forestland parcels subject to a use value appraisal; and () requiring consulting foresters to be licensed by the State. (b) The report of the Secretary of Natural Resources under this section shall be due on January,. VT LEG #00 v.

8 (Draft No.. H.) Page of // - BNH - 0: PM Sec.. 0 Acts and Resolves No., Sec. is amended to read: Sec.. COMMISSIONER OF FORESTS, PARKS AND RECREATION () If more than percent of the acres to be enrolled are Site, plus open not to be restocked, plus ecologically significant not to be managed for timber production, landowners may apply to the commissioner Commissioner for approval. The plans and maps shall be reviewed by the county foresters of the county where the parcel is located. In no situation shall a parcel be approved that does not provide for at least 0 percent of the land classified as Site,, or to be managed for timber production. Sec.. EFFECTIVE DATES This act shall take effect on July, and apply to grand lists compiled after that date. (Committee vote: ) Senator FOR THE COMMITTEE VT LEG #00 v.